momstown Milton mamas had the perfect Moms Night Out as they headed over to Mary-Anne Scarturchio-Selwa's home to learn how to cook 3 quick and easy meals AKA a power cooking session! And the best part? We even got to sit down and eat a hot and tasty meal and oh yeah, we chatted and had lots of good laughs too!
We did 3 recipes in 1 hour - estimated $45 ingredient cost - a win-win for time and money.
MAIN INGREDIENTS FOR MAKE-AHEAD GROUND BEEF
3 medium onions
3 lb ground meat of choice - e.g. beef (lean, medium); ground turkey; ground chicken
3 garlic cloves (Mary-Anne stressed that it must be fresh peeled garlic and even provided us with a peeling demonstration. But some of us in the Culinary Chicks peanut gallery muttered that minced garlic or roasted garlic puree could be used as well - shh - don't tell our chef!)
Chef's Tip: Mary-Anne used a hand chopper to chop up the onions and garlic together - efficient time saver!
SAUCY BEEF CHILI
In the blink of an eye, we mixed the ground meat, onion and garlic, chili beans in sauce, diced tomatoes, water, tomato paste and chili seasoning mix.
Since this was one of our "make-ahead" meals, we then transferred our cooled mixture into a labelled (name of recipe; date prepared and use by date) in a large resealable plastic bag.
Chef's Tip: Always ensure foods are completely cooled before freezing them. When it's time for defrosting, remove from freezer and defrost in the refrigerator or microwave on the defrost setting.
Once defrosted, combine ingredients in skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Spoon chili into bowls and top with desired toppings: cheddar cheese, sliced green onions or sour cream.
BARBECUE BEEF SLOPPY JOES
Mamas took turns measuring out ketchup, barbecue rub, and cider vinegar. We then mixed it up with the ground meat, onion and garlic.
Since this was one another of our "make-ahead" meals, we then transferred our cooled mixture into a labelled (name of recipe; date prepared and use by date) in a large resealable plastic bag.
EASY BEEF STROGANOFF
Mary-Anne set egg noodles to boil as they were going to be mixed to the stroganoff mixture for Culinary Chicks dinner.
Chef's Tip: When cooking noodles, add salt only (no oils) to the water which has come to a rolling boil. The salt is your opportunity to flavour the pasta. And we learned a neat trick: putting a wooden spoon over your boiling pot will prevent it from boiling over.
Mamas took turns measuring out sliced mushrooms (yes, we used canned), cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, water, ground paprika, salt, and coarsely ground pepper. We then mixed it up with the ground meat, onion and garlic. And off to the stove it went!
The stroganoff was our Culinary Chicks dinner so we watched in anxious anticipation - our eyes admiring the deliciousness in the pot. As the kitchen was infused with the luscious smells, we practically stood with forks in hand waiting for the cooking process to be complete.
MANGIA CULINARY CHICKS!
We each spooned ourselves a bowl of stroganoff and we set to eating. Even after preparing 3 meals, we had plenty of time to chat and just enjoy.
The 2 make-ahead dishes were drawn as prizes and Rachel and Mandy were our lucky winners!
Are you a mama who could use a Moms Night Out? Next month the Culinary Chicks will be cooking it up Asian Style, come and see what it’s all about. Tight on Time? This quick skillet dish will become a family favourite: ASIAN Pork and Noodle Skillet. Easy and delicious!
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